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Monthly Archives: July 2012

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If you liked my previous post Lowcountry Livin’ I thought you might enjoy Hit the Sauce as well. I wrote a little Quick Bite for Charleston magazine and it is out this month. Check it out and hear more of a background about the sauce and its history. And if you live in Charleston pick up a copy :)

My sister’s engagement party was this past Saturday and it was amazing! It was at a wine bar in Dallas with friends and family and it went perfectly. To go along with the wine, we had a cheese platter that was incredible, pizza and for dessert dark chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and chocolate covered strawberries which I made. Dessert has always kinda been my thing so when I started to plan the party I knew I wanted to make the desserts. Picking both of their favorites the cupcakes were for John and the strawberries for Kara.

Since I knew I wanted to spend as much time with my sister when I was visiting as possible, I decided to bake the cupcakes before in Michigan and carry them with me to Dallas. I brought tupperware and the cupcake pan with me from my current location of Charleston, South Carolina and I can only imagine what the TSA was thinking as my bags went through security. I baked the cupcakes on Thursday night and carried with me 48 mini cupcakes down to Dallas. Things went smoothly and I frosted them on Saturday before the party and they were adorable. They were still incredibly moist and delicious. Luckily the strawberries were easy to do on Saturday too during the day so they weren’t overhead bin partners with the cupcakes. What can I say, carry cupcakes on the plane is The Pilot’s Daughter way.

While texting my sister last night as I packed for my trip, I felt my bag was a little too empty so I asked her what I could possibly be forgetting. She pointed out that as long as I have a dress and shoes for her engagement party this Saturday then I was good to go. I quickly ran through what I had packed again and then let my thoughts settle with the agreement of Kara’s text and drifted to sleep. I woke up startled at 5 am to my roommate waking me five minuets after my alarm was supposed to go off, luckily I still had 20 minutes to get ready. I hoped out of bed without my usual grace and with a rushed feeling of being a little later than planed. That’s when it hit me, I knew what I had forgotten; I forgot to list myself for the flight. Normally this wouldn’t be that big of a deal but our internet was out so I couldn’t list myself. I tried calling my dad and my sister but it was 4 am their time and I knew they weren’t going to wake and I felt bad calling till they answered. I left them both a hopeful text that read, “if you roll over and see this call me” knowing perfectly well they wouldn’t. I decided, well I had a ride to the airport so I’ll go and hopefully get there in time to list on my computer at the airport. What do you know I did. Things ended up smoothly and I am now on my way to Michigan for a few days before heading down to Dallas, Texas for my sisters’ engagement party.

This post wasn’t supposed to be about my forgetful tendencies but about in flight beverages. I’ve been traveling since I was little and I developed a beverage habit. That may sound weird but it is just something I did. My go to were ginger ale and Mr. And Mrs. T’s Bloody Mary Mix; ok that may be a weird combination. I originally started with plain tomato juice but as my taste buds grew I was able to handle the spiciness of the bloody mary mix. I was probably obnoxious to the fight attendants. I would order both of these drinks and ask for the can. The occasional flight attendant, who actually enjoyed her job, would respond with a smile and unhesitatingly hand me both. I must say though those were the days when you still got meals in coach domestically and butter dipped pretzels. Other times though I would be told no to the can, or I would even be too embarrassed to ask for the cans. I would get my dad to order one of my drinks for me. I would go sip for sip. Sip of the spicy tomato juice then washed down by the crisp ginger ale. I even took it too far once and mixed both of them in a cup, it wasn’t the worst thing I’ve tasted.

It’s weird but it still something I get excited about every time I fly. It is an added treat to the fact that I am traveling somewhere because tomato juice at home just isn’t the same. Now I am back to just plain tomato juice and pretzels. It’s a cycle and I’m sure once again I will revisit Mr. and Mrs. T’s.

PS the cookies on Delta are famous and delicious. Get them next time you fly and dip them in coffee…yum!

All states have things that make them unique, from flowers to food. That is one thing that I have grown to love about South Carolina, the southern food. This is evident if you have been an avid follower, from my recent post. Continuing with the trend; Charleston is in the lowcountry. Being a city in the lowcountry aka on the water, you of course will have famous seafood dishes. So with that the lowcountry boil was born. It is basically a one pot wonder. Throw in some shrimp, corn, peppers, onion, sausage, potatoes and old bay seasoning in a large pot and let it boil. Its so fresh and delicious. The onions and peppers are melt in your mouth tasty and the old bay seasoning of course does the trick for the perfect amount of spice. Put some newspaper on the tables and invite the friends over for a lowcountry boil party.

Serve it over rice and with cocktail sauce as a topping sauce and you will feel right at front porch Charleston sittin home.